Random little acts of hate

The kids go to a charter school owned and operated by a local Boys & Girls Club organization.  It is a small school filled with 250 smiling faces willing to learn.  The principal of the school is a staunch by loving adult within their lives, active in every aspect of the daily classroom activities for her Kindergarten through 8th graders.  Every quarter she hosts an awards ceremony for the kids, presents them with awards for Honor Roll, Principal's List, Perfect Attendance, Citizenship.  In attendance are the teachers, fellow classmates, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles.  And while you sit in the "Big Gym" she asks the kids "Where are we going?"  to which the kids shout back "We're going to college."  As each child hears their name called, they come down the wooden bleachers, she hands them their award, and each child shakes the teachers hands in a line, similar to accepting a high school or college degree.  It is her hope that as they receive this training in her school, they will crave that higher degree and pursue their dreams.

In an atmosphere filled with positive feedback, you have the surrounding neighborhood.  While the school may be the haven of hope to those children and parents, the neighborhood is nothing short of scruffy, difficult, rough, and not a place you would want to get lost at night.  It is filled with old people, young people, the streets are littered with cars that may just park in the center of the street.  Driving down the streets it is not unusual to see dogs running loose, 2 year-olds darting into the road, and general mayhem to the outsider.  It is a neighborhood filled with industrial shops, auto-mechanics, and primary population of Hispanics.  Of those Hispanics,  1/4 are not here legally.  While the streets at one time may have been a sense of pride to the city, it is now littered with small crime, drug use, and general disorganization.

The kids have attended this school since the 2006 - 2007 school year.  For the outside community, the property the school is on can be considered a safe place due to a Boys & Girls Club being located on the premises.  They have outstanding testing scores, and students are at a higher learning curve than other schools, both private, public, and / or charter.  This is the main reason why the kids still attend this school.  The kids that attend this school have a great sense of pride for their school, the buildings, the teachers, and the learning process.  They understand and appreciate the facilities, equipment, and adults who are working with them.  While the neighborhood may feel chaotic, the premises of the school / club is that of peace.

This is the location where so many wonderful childhood memories are formed for the students.  This is where they learn to trust adults, understand how the world works, and about the arts.  It is a unique school where they focus on the arts, and the importance of learning the of math and drawing, and the relation between the two.  This is a location chosen to be celebrated by local government, state government and federal government officials like U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, athletes and celebrities like Jay-Z and LeBron James.  These entities coming to their school, telling them they can achieve their goals, and to reach for the stars, encourages the kids to believe, to learn, and to love while learning.

When I picked the kids up today, they told me the school was broken into over the holiday weekend.  Not only were the buildings broken into, but NetBooks, laptops, USB cords, cameras, classroom items, and some personal belongings of both students and faculty were taken.  The look on my kids' face that someone would do this was that of astonishment, awe, and disgust.  My children understand these electronic items are not just items to "play" on, but tools to learn.

This is not the first time something like this has happened.  A few years ago, while on Spring Break, someone started a fire in the administrative building, destroying all records stored as a hard copy.  Destroying not just items that could be replaced, but also the trust my kids felt in knowing their school was safe from outsiders.  Today, that same level of random little acts of hate was displayed on their faces again.

For those who feel it is okay to take from others, it is astonishing you are willing to take away from a place of learning.  For those who feel it is okay to take away from others, it is astonishing you are willing to have such lack of respect for children, and the tools needed to learn, to become successful adults who are able to govern our society in the future.  You are teaching children extreme neglect for who they are, where they are going, and who they will become.  Your random acts of hate do not just effect the students currently attending the school, but also future students who may enter the facility to learn.  You are effecting the neighborhood, already disparaged.  You are effecting the parents, the families, teachers, and administrators.  Your actions, while they may have been adventurous at the time, will hopefully come back to haunt you in years to come.  You have taken from the learning process of children, and the development of our future.